


Five Times Dorian Pavus Decided to Stay With the Inquisition

by edibleflowers



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: 5 Times, Attraction, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-31
Updated: 2015-03-31
Packaged: 2018-03-20 13:03:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3651372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edibleflowers/pseuds/edibleflowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pretty much what it says on the tin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Dorian Pavus Decided to Stay With the Inquisition

**Author's Note:**

> Just a bit of trying to get into Dorian's headspace. No major spoilers for DA:I but some for Dorian's storyline. The Inquisitor is Dalish two-handed warrior Aranel Lavellan. I know this isn't great; I just wanted to get something done and out for a change.

1\. He wasn't going to stay, not at all. Stopping Alexius from using time magic was his only objective. Meeting the agent who'd been battling across the Hinterlands to stop the mage and templar fighting and help the refugees displaced by said fighting: that was merely a means to an end. Then the slender Dalish warrior stepped into the Chantry and closed a rift with a wave of his hand, and Dorian suddenly reconsidered his long-term goals.

 

2\. The dark future of Redcliffe Castle was a nightmare not to be soon forgotten. He expected it to haunt his sleeping hours for months, if not years, to come. The image of the Inquisition's spymaster in particular -- her face a death's-mask, eyes burning feverishly in dark, hollowed sockets -- would never leave him, he expected; nor would Felix's fragile, skeletal appearance. But afterwards, when they managed to get back to the proper time and stop Alexius -- and after that, when the Dalish smiled and said he'd be glad to be stranded in time with Dorian again -- Dorian felt a strange lightness in his stomach. To be wanted again, without judgment, regardless of his country of origin: could he let himself hope he'd found a place?

 

3\. When the darkspawn magister, his pet archdemon, and his legion of red templars appeared, Dorian figured that Haven was done for. The village itself couldn't withstand such an attack; nor could the fledgling Inquisition, whose forces were largely scattered across Ferelden. After, though, escaping through underground tunnels and miles of blinding snow, he oscillated between marvelling that he was still alive and praying to whoever would listen that Aranel Lavellan was, too. Though he and the Dalish hadn't had much chance to talk between Redcliffe and the attack, he already found himself drawn to Lavellan. Nor did he wish the Inquisition to lose the person who'd clearly become their leader in all but name.

Hours passed before they finally found a level place in the mountainside, enough to set up tents and make fires. Cassandra and Cullen had been snapping at each other all the way, and with the chance to breathe, they began arguing in earnest. It wasn't long before Leliana joined in, then Josephine. Standing apart from them, close enough to a fire to feel the burn on his palms while his rear froze, Dorian debated whether his presence would long be tolerated.

Then a scout shouted that she'd seen a figure approaching in the snow, and the argument broke off as half the camp began moving in that direction. Dorian did as well, though he wasn't surprised to see Cullen and Cassandra in the lead. Far off in the haze of wind and snow, he saw the slight figure stumble to his knees. Something he hadn't even known was there eased in his chest.

 

4\. To say that his father's visit rattled him was something of an understatement. He hadn't expected to ever set eyes on Halward Pavus again. Nor did he think he wanted to. All his life, he'd striven to make his parents proud; some naive part of him had once believed that if he only tried hard enough to be the perfect mage, his parents would be happy and love each other. When the attempted use of blood magic made it clear to him that they would never be happy with _him_ , let alone each other, he'd been almost glad to go. Aranel's insistence that he talk to his father had not been the encouragement he'd wanted to hear. And yet...

Afterwards, he'd been grateful for a little time alone. He'd ridden back to Skyhold, and while he was sure the Inquisitor had been informed the moment Dorian trotted back into the keep, Aranel had given him some time. Politically astute the Dalish might not be; respectful, though, he certainly was. Another item to add to the list of things Dorian liked about him.

 

5\. Tevinter weighed on his mind more than ever, especially after the incidents at the Temple of Mythal. Ancient elves revealing secrets about his own homeland: Dorian had known that the histories could never be completely true, written as they were by the victors, but to have been so completely wrong about Arlathan? It made him sick. He wanted to right the wrongs, to fix everything, even knowing how completely impossible such a desire was.

He could have left. At any time, he knew, he could have gone, and Aranel wouldn't have stopped him. Would have aided him, even, despite their feelings for each other. Yet another thing to admire about his lover. (His lover: the Inquisitor. To not have to hide that; to be able to smile and touch and kiss without fear of reprisal-- The awareness of it still took Dorian by shocked surprise sometimes, made his heart ache with a feeling he could only label joy.) Yet, every day, Dorian found reasons not to go.

Tevinter would require work. He wasn't the only one who wanted to fix it, and he knew that. But he had dedicated himself to the Inquisition; beyond all personal feeling, this was an affair he had to see through to the end.

 

5a. Following the defeat of Corypheus, a lavish celebration was thrown in honor of the victory; Josephine organized an enormous banquet, brought in musicians and decorators and cooks by the score. In the early hours afterward, sated and content in their bed, Dorian drew an arm across Aranel's waist and settled contentedly beside him. He would return to Tevinter soon enough. For now, he was right where he needed to be.


End file.
